EMILY FENG, HOST:
A U.S. defense official not authorized to speak publicly confirms the USS George Washington is on its way to the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has now been deployed for almost nine months. For the roughly 5,000 sailors on board the Lincoln, those months have meant war with Iran, long stretches at sea and very little privacy or downtime. And lately, families and members of Congress have raised concerns about what that extended deployment is doing to the mental health of the people on board. Julie Roland knows this world well. She is a former Navy helicopter pilot who flew missions from the Lincoln. Welcome, Julie.
JULIE ROLAND: Hi. Thanks so much for having me.
FENG: So take us into the world of the USS Lincoln. What is day to day life like on board when 5,000 people are living and working on an aircraft carrier?
ROLAND: All the time when you're on the ship, everyone is working to help support the flight operations, working on the engines or hydraulic systems of the aircraft or any of the things that keep just the aircraft carrier moving. But it's very dynamic. Most people are wearing multiple hats with multiple responsibilities. And then beyond that, you're just still trying to eat your meals every day and write home if you can, if you can get access to a computer. And it can be monotonous and rigorous at the same time. But honestly, it's hard to imagine what these folks on the USS Lincoln are going through right now because they are facing a mission that is so much more life or death than anything that I faced. I really just commend these sailors for working as hard as they can.
FENG: So it sounds like you're working all the time on board. You're probably in cramped quarters as well. And this is a stressful job, especially because these sailors are now operating in a war zone. I know that you weren't serving during a time of active conflict, but can you imagine how that might change what life aboard this ship would feel like?
ROLAND: In my time during the Navy, I've done multiple crossings of the Strait of Hormuz, and it's a highly dynamic evolution, even before we were engaged in conflict with them. And so one thing is that every time we went through the Strait of Hormuz, we would get a briefing with the JAG, and they would tell us exactly what are the rules of engagement because we were anticipating at least some provocation or the attempt at a provocation. And so now, certainly, these sailors must be under significantly more pressure. And frankly, I would understand that if any of them are afraid. So my heart definitely goes out for them.
FENG: Got it. So I understand you have been in touch with some people who are still aboard the Lincoln now. What are they describing to you?
ROLAND: It's not good. It's really sad to hear. I've seen pictures of the food. At this point, a lot of us have seen pictures of what the trays look like on the mess decks. But I've also seen videos of them just pushing boxes of trash off of the deck because the incinerator was broken and so they couldn't properly dispose of trash in the way that they normally do. There's super long lines for the chow hall. There's long lines for water. There are long lines for bathrooms because there have been plumbing issues. And these are things that may seem like really small interruption. But all of them adding up together in a job that's already really difficult to handle, it adds up.
FENG: Wow. So Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that these reports you're describing about poor living and sanitary conditions on board were, quote, "completely misrepresented." What do you make of that disconnect between what you're hearing from your friends on board and the secretary?
ROLAND: Well, I heard the secretary say that, and my thought was, why did he not provide a single example of anything that was misrepresented. Back in April, there were already reports of these kinds of things on the Lincoln, and at that time, he called it fake news. And since then, we've seen over 200 family members of active duty service members who are on board the USS Lincoln, and they all were sharing these same kind of reports. But in terms of why is there that disconnect, I mean, I think we've seen in a lot of other areas that there's been more withholding than normal from this Pentagon and, in general, just less transparency. So hearing that from the secretary doesn't surprise me, but in terms of do I find it persuasive? Absolutely not.
FENG: A U.S. defense official not authorized to speak publicly confirms the USS George Washington is now on its way to relieve the Lincoln. So when you hear that as someone who served aboard the Lincoln, what do you think the sailors and their families need most right now?
ROLAND: Well, I think there should be a lot of relief that there's going to be another carrier coming out. But I think really what we as just Americans can do is realize that we're about to have 5,000 folks return to the states who have gone through something traumatic. I don't think anybody wants to be stuck in their office for 200 days without being able to see their friends or family no matter how good your job is. And some people do really struggle with the mental health of just transitioning from life on board to coming back home. When they return, we have to embrace them and take care of whatever might be the residual effects of having gone through this.
FENG: Julie Roland is a former Navy helicopter pilot who flew missions from the Lincoln. Thanks so much, Julie, for speaking with me.
ROLAND: Thank you so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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